Have you ever noticed that when you’re on an Internet forum or browsing the web, you always come across a dozen different estimates for the ideal cost of living in a particular location? One guy, an obvious BS artist (or is he?) reports that you can live in the Philippines for $1000 a month and live well – a backpacker, retiree or TEFL teacher might even go a bit lower than that with your claims.

Then, unsurprisingly, a small handful of naysayers chime in to say that it’s just not possible. “You would have to live like a local!” they are quick to point out. “And that’s not life for a Westerner…”

So who is right then? Is there anywhere in the world where it is possible to live well with that kind of money, and if so, why the discrepancy?

Considering different budgeting paradigms

Well, a simple answer, and read on to find out why it’s not the only answer, is that everyone has their own idea of ​​what constitutes a worthwhile lifestyle abroad. In fact, whenever someone asks me about the cost of living, I personally feel it’s better to give three figures.

1. The bare minimum to live a comfortable first world lifestyle.

With this kind of cash coming in, you may not live as well as other expats, but you will often live a better lifestyle than in your home country. And you would have to follow a budget to make it happen. In Thailand, for example, this is usually around $1,000 per month.

2. A number where you would feel you are doing very well: Think of a happy and busy retiree.

You would have plenty of cash to move freely around the country on vacation (within reason), play golf, and go out as often as you like. In Southeast Asian countries, I find $2000 buys this kind of flexibility. To be clear, a bit of a budget would be a good idea at this stage for large purchases, so you wouldn’t exactly be living like an oil tycoon, but for the most part, money would be very little concern in your day-to-day life. day life

3. How much would it take to start feeling rich?

This amount will essentially make money not an issue at all. You would have almost everything you need or want (considering that no matter where in the world you live, there will never be a limit to how much you could spend on luxury if you wanted to).

In Southeast Asia, the number is usually over $3,000.

Wait, wait, wait… $1000! That’s not enough!

Now this is the time when someone steps in and argues that $1000 per month is not enough for a good lifestyle in Thailand for example. You might be able to do it, they exclaimed, but it would be a pretty horrible and boring existence. You would be living in a roach infested box and you would never be able to do anything.

Not so fast.

First of all, that argument misses the point that $1000 is a minimum. Other than that, it’s a very solid minimum. For $1000 a month, again, on a budget, you’d eat out for every meal, live in a nice furnished condo (maybe with a pool on site), have all your laundry done for you, a normal house. cleaner, and you went out a few nights a week for beers with friends.

The difference is that you would have to watch your money a bit for this to be possible. Sure, you couldn’t go out every night, but the old lifestyle still isn’t bad if you ask me. I mean, do you go out every night at home? I doubt it.

This is where the number one leverage point arises.

This is where the confusion comes in and why such discrepancies arise.

When you live in a place like Thailand or Cambodia, extra income almost always buys one thing, and that thing is convenience. And at the end of the day, most expats simply don’t take the time to search for deals and find out the true lay of the land.

Learning to live well on the cheap in a new location requires real effort. It takes time. It requires people skills, and it’s a special brand of people skills that allows you to transcend cultural boundaries and communicate across the language barrier. All this is learned through travel and intercultural experiences.

More importantly, both acquiring such skills and using them requires a willingness to put in the effort or, in many cases, having a tight enough budget to inspire that effort.

Also, keep in mind that no matter where you move to, there will always be a “learning curve” as you settle in, and this will cost you as well. It’s one of the reasons any new country gets cheaper the longer you stay.

Let’s take a closer look, starting with the food.

Here is an example of how effort, adventurous spirit and familiarity apply in a country like Thailand.

If you were to move to Bangkok right now, your first impulse would probably be to stick to the areas of the city where all the other tourists go, like Khao San Road and Sukhumvit. It is easier.

The infrastructure is highly dependent and suitable for tourists. Everyone speaks English and is used to dealing with foreigners. And since all the other travelers are already there, they’ll most likely refer you to places in that area when you ask, not to mention that many travelers find it more fun to spend time abroad with this crowd, whether they recognize it or No.

So you’ll most likely eat at the tourist spots, which are the most expensive places in town relative to what you get. You’ll probably end up spending an average of 100-200 baht (about $3-$6) per meal, perhaps an occasional meal for 60 baht ($2). If you insisted on sticking to western food places, you would spend double and maybe more.

And that doesn’t sound so bad, right?

But once you get a little more adventurous and comfortable with your surroundings, you can wander around a few streets and there you will find that there is never a reason to spend more than 35 baht (about $1) for a meal (in my experience these places serve some of the best food but lack the decor of the more expensive places).

In fact, you could live on a fairly reasonable food budget and still indulge in your daytime meals at these places and go somewhere a little nicer for dinners and weekends.

And is it such a big sacrifice compared to how you manage your food budget at home?

Want to save even more money? If you are renting a place with a kitchen, save by cooking your own food. Again, this is what you make at home anyway, even if it’s not the standard in Thailand, and you can still splurge and try some great new dishes on the weekends or for dinner parties.

What about rental and hotel costs?

Most people never bother to “shop around” and compare prices; it is too much “work” in a country with which they are not familiar and in which they do not speak the language. So they buy the first nice hotel or apartment they find; after all, it is still cheaper than at home! They don’t seem to care that they can get it at a lower cost because they have never paid such low rent in their lives.

So instead of looking for a place for $200-300 per month, they gladly pay $500-$600. And they may not even know that clean, deliverable places can be had for $60-$90 per month for those less demanding. In fact, I’ve met plenty of long-term travelers who didn’t even bother past the hotel room stage.

It’s just easier for most to follow the path of least resistance.

Another cost that varies wildly is transportation.

If you take a tuk tuk or taxi wherever you go in Bangkok, it’s obviously going to add up, especially while you’re still developing third world bargaining skills. Many travelers flatly refuse to get on a motorcycle, insisting that it is too dangerous. It’s a bit dangerous, but no one would say that you can’t save a lot of money by renting a motorbike regularly.

For those who rent a motorbike, they often pay the higher price, which can end up anywhere from 3000-5000 baht ($90-$150) per month.

Shopping in and out of the resorts, you can find a bike for as little as 2000 baht ($60) a month. Meet some local friends and often it even gets cheaper. Or consider these two ideas. How about splitting the monthly bike rental with a friend and taking turns with him? Or how about buying a bike and selling it when you leave the country?

If you are in a small enough area you don’t even need a motorbike, you can get a bike or walk. You can take buses and the Skytrain (into Bangkok).

Most foreigners reject all of the above ideas because it’s about figuring out how transportation systems work, accepting a little discomfort, or taking risks. So they take a taxi.

An interesting feature of paradise

Here is my point. Of course, it is much more convenient and comfortable to jump into an air-conditioned taxi or take the first rental that falls into your lap.

Once again, in a place like Southeast Asia, money buys convenience.

But another interesting feature of many of these exotic foreign places is that it is very easy to live a very comfortable life simply by picking and choosing how to spend your money and looking for the deals that are meant for middle-class locals; these low costs are necessary to make daily life possible on the extremely tight budgets common to these areas.

When you’re on a budget, you find ways to make life work on the specific terms of where you are; you probably have experience with this from living in the first world, where the same is true. You learn to barter. You ask local friends where to go to get good deals. You look for leverage points.

That way, you’re living like a local I guess, but it’s a fallacy to believe that living like a local in South East Asia always means poverty and suffering.

And by putting in this extra time and effort, the end result is that you can live a life very comparable to someone who has twice as much money to spend, a person who doesn’t even try to save money, simply because their wallet has limits.

You have to do it, so you do it.

So who is right?

Everyone is right because it is up to each individual how much effort they are willing to put in. In poor countries, there are ways for everyone to live there, and they do.

Live well with less? You just have to try…and isn’t it everywhere you go?